79 - Paranormal Activity 4

    Set about 5-6 years after the first two movies, Katie and Hunter are a bit older, and are still doing something - which involves a neighbor family having to deal with the demon.
    For some reason, this movie has a poor reputation, even among fans of the series.  I actually liked it.  I think I liked it a bit more than the third one.  There are a few differences.  This one has a slightly more clever approach to the story.  We only figure out what the demon wants to do, or why it is haunting this family, about halfway through the movie.  The other movies had a much more gradual ramping up of the tension.  This one still applies the same approach, but the demonic attacks seem a bit more tame, and they only get especially dark close to the end.  In the other movies, most of the characters are aware of the haunting, and are investigating it.  In this, only two of the characters are interested in figuring out what's going on.  The adults seem to deny that anything strange is happening.
    The thing that really sells this installment for me is the two teenage characters.  The movie is primarily from their point of view, and I liked them quite a bit.  This is an unusual thing.  Normally, teen characters are annoying.  Here, they seem to be exactly what they should be.  Generally, good kids.  Fairly well behaved, but a bit emotionally distanced from adults.  It's the little kids - the 7-year-olds - that seem much more suspicious.  And this seems realistic to me.  Kids that age, in a friendship, tend to have a secret kind of relationship, and that comes across here.
    The relationship between the teenagers is incredibly cute.  The guy is clearly very interested in the girl, who really likes hanging out with him.  Their interactions have this really charming subtext of flirtation.
    This brings up one aspect of the movie that I didn't like, and it's a spoiler.

    I know I can't expect anyone to survive these movies.  While we don't see the death of the girl, it's implied.  But we do see the death of the teen boy.  I felt bad about this.  In a way, I think it would have been great if he survived.

    Again, another movie I still liked quite a bit.  The mythology is still building, and this ending left the door open for a wide variety of directions that the story could go.  Still don't think I'd have any reason to re-watch it.  Maybe in a few years, when I've forgotten the story.